'Yang Hee-young-Hwang Yoo-min Good Start' This time, Kim Hyo-joo will take over, Honda Thailand 3R is the only second place [LPGA]

*This content was translated by AI.

Yang Hee-young (37, Keum Securities) and Hwang Yoo-min (23, Lotte) showed off their good shot from the opening game. This time, Kim Hyo-joo (31, Lotte) will take over the baton.

Kim Hyo-joo tied nine birdies and two bogeys in the third round of the Honda Thailand (total prize money of $1.8 million) of the LPGA Tour at Siam Country Club Old Course (par 72, 6,649 yards) in Chonburi, Thailand on the 21st.

Kim Hyo-joo, who recorded an interim total of 18-under 198, raised her ranking sharply from eighth place the previous day to second place alone. She is two strokes ahead of Gino Thitikul (Thailand), the world's No. 1 female golfer with 20-under 196.

He will try to win his eighth championship in 11 months since the Ford Championship in March last year. Last year, she won the Ladies European Tour (LET) Aramco Korea Championship in Korea, but she left a regret as she finished second three times in the LPGA Tour after the Ford Championship.

Kim Hyo-joo, who started tied for 16th with 4 under par on the first day, caught 7 birdies with no bogey play in the second round and jumped to a tie for 8th place at once, boasting a more surprising sense of shot on the day.

Kim Hyo-joo, who reduced the number of pars with a birdie on the fourth hole (par 3), boasted a perfect shot at the sixth hole (par 4) and the seventh hole (par 5) and made birdies in succession.

The par putt missed the side on the 9th hole (par 4) and lost one stroke, but he caught a birdie after a perfect bunker shot on the 10th hole (par 5), the first hole in the second half, and made a tricky putt on the 11th hole (par 4) to reduce one stroke again.

The 12th hole (par 3) tee shot fell into a bunker and was in crisis, and escaped well from a tricky slope, but he couldn't avoid watching. Nevertheless, Kim Hyo-joo, who made a perfect wedge shot in the 13th and 15th holes (par 4) and a clean iron shot in the 16th holes (par 3), putted her second shot on the green at the 18th hole (par 5) and finished with her ninth birdie of the day with two putts.

Lee So-mi (27, Shinhan Financial Group), who rose to first place by reducing 11 pars in the second round, tied for third with a 17-under 199 on the day with only an even-par 72 on the day. Lee So-mi is also only three strokes apart from the lead, so she can also seek a come-from-behind victory in the fourth round.

Korean-born player Lydia Ko (New Zealand) finished sixth with a 16-under 200, and Choi Hye-jin (27) finished 10th with a 13-under 203. Kim Se-young (33), Yoo Hae-ran (25), and Lee Mi-hyang (33) are also tied for 11th with 12-under 204, raising expectations for a better performance than entering the top 10 on the final day. Yoon Na-na (23) hit even par on the day and tied for 46th at 4-under 212.

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*This content was translated by AI.